After being liberated from a concentration camp, a group of children are left alone in an abandoned fortress in the middle of the woods to fend for themselves, and as they succumb to starvation and thirst they find themselves slowly picked off by the rabid guard dogs that used to patrol the camp.

There was a lot to like with this one. Among its more enjoyable aspects is the impressive build-up to everything where the actions of the kids at the house makes for a solid time here. Working together to try to get by for what seems like the first time in their lives with no adult supervision alone in the middle of the woods inside a huge house by themselves offers a wholly engaging premise to work with before incorporating the events taking place around them. The period setting with the film set during the Second World War and being aware of the real-world dangers they face at the same time as the killer dogs surrounding them and makes for an engaging time as the scenes of them trying to forage for food in the woods, collect supplies and perform regular duties around the house offer enough to get going in the first half. Likewise, once the dogs enter the fray there's quite a lot to enjoy. Not only are the attack scenes incredibly brutal but their general involvement is quite entertaining. The first attacks are highly enjoyable, from seeing the opening shots of the dogs tearing the prisoners to pieces to them stumbling upon the mangled bodies in the woods which get this going on a fine note. The actual encounter with the guard stationed to protect them which is quite brutal and dark in its own right and is followed nicely with the chase through the house trying to keep it under control while everyone frantically flees in cover. Keeping the dogs to a more realistic pattern of attacks with them mostly restricted to sniffing around, pacing and barking frantically might be a detriment since there's not much more in the way of brutality or a body-count the fact that they remain a presence to overcome and keep them there is a fine sight, and the uplifting finale is a positive to enjoy as well which gives this a lot to like. This one does have a few minor quibbles about it. The main issue is the use of an annoying and utterly unrealistic trope where the dogs are able to follow the commands of the kids and not attack them. In a realistic sense, the dogs would be unresponsive to anything said by them just because the kids are speaking in their native language and would be unfamiliar with who or what was talking to it, making the scenes of them controlling the dogs highly illogical and far-fetched. Moreover, since they have that upper hand and realize that the dogs can be controlled why they don't press that to their advantage and escape keeping the dogs at bay which seems quite odd that this wouldn't be at least attempted earlier as they stay there for several days aware of this before anything is attempted. Otherwise, this one doesn't have many flaws.

Rated Unrated/R: Violence, Graphic Language and intense themes of children-in-jeopardy.

Originally known as Wilkolak in its native Poland, this film was written and directed by Adrian Panek.

After the end of World War II, a temporary orphanage has been established in an abandoned palace surrounded by forests. There, eight children liberated from the Gross-Rosen camp and Hanka, a former inmate, are attempting to create a new home and remember what it is like to be normal. However, the feral dogs of the SS have been released into the wild and have now come to the orphanage in search of food, which means that the terror of war never goes away.

While not a perfect film, the idea of the dogs being abused into abusing and killing humans being reflected on the children, who must escape a similar cycle of abuse, is a really solid idea that underpins everything in the story. There's plenty of tension and some harrowing animal on human moments of violence. There are also some terrific performances by the young cast that are worth watching.

If ever a film demonstrated man's inhumanity to man, this has to be up there. Here we have a few half starved kids so terrified of their Nazi guards that they perform automatic, humiliating tasks just to get through each day. You get the distinct impression that they have never known any other kind of life. Once their camp has been liberated and they are effectively abandoned, they take a chance to bond together in a derelict country house for survival and turn into quite an effective group against a clear and natural animal enemy that is now just as deprived of freedom (and food) and many of them. There is certainly some gore, but it seems appropriately inflicted on the deserving. The title is slightly misleading, I thought. There is nothing supernatural about the "horror" here - it's as plain as the nose on your face. Certainly worth seeing on a big screen.